Certain lighting rental houses are huge, as they always acquire new acts and more gear. They are great places to try and get your foot in the door. But you may be the low man on the totem pole for quite some time until you work your way up. I am a big fan of the little guys. I mean those regional lighting companies that excel in their particular part of the States. Inevitably, these companies will find themselves shorthanded, and young techs will be “thrown into the fire” by necessity. And the faster you figure out how to squelch that fire and do something new, the more valuable you become to everyone. These companies may not be able to pay you what you wish to start, but they can give you a faster way to work yourself up in the biz.
—Nook Schoenfeld, from “LD-at-Large,” PLSN, August 2012
